In the culture and observation of cells, conventional equipment places stress on valuable cell lines, risks contamination, and can lead to decreased cell viability. The BioStation CT automatically conducts operations from culture to observation of cells under optimal conditions in the same incubator, according to a user-configured schedule. Moreover, culture condition records are saved with image data for worry-free culture of important samples.

The Nikon BioStation CT allows imaging experiments to be conducted without ever removing the cells from the incubator. Consisting of a standard sized tissue culture incubator with an inverted microscope inside, BioStation CT holds 30 vessels ranging from 96 well plates to 75cm2 flasks, which are moved between the microscope stage and the vessel rack via a robotic device while maintaining precise levels of CO2 , humidity, and temperature.

BioStation CT provides images from 2x to 40x phase images with apodized phase contrast (APC) optics and fluorescence images with three color LED illumination. A bird's eye color macro view allows the entire vessel to be viewed from above. Complete security is provided: users access only the samples for which they have clearance. Experimental results are reliably traced and can be accessed remotely via an internet connection or LAN.